The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 375: Under the Stars (2)

Chapter 375: Under the Stars (2)

"Help me free the Baron."

Hex hadn’t shouted or cursed. He had simply whispered. But the sentence stunned Althea, rooting her in place.

"You are Fate and Heaven, aren’t you not? Shouldn’t it be easy for you to access the Heaven’s Vault?"

If Hex could free the Baron he wouldn’t mind helping Althea win against the Divine Lord.

After all, hadn’t he left Grindeston and the chance of living as one of them behind him in order to find a way to help his master break free from the confinement?

"That...I can’t do that," Althea said slowly. "If he is freed this war will lose its meaning."

"What do you mean?" Hex asked. He expected his request to be something difficult to achieve and require time. What he didn’t expect was that she didn’t even consider the possibility and linked it with the war.

"The Baron is an anomaly. A human like him shouldn’t have existed."

Was it him or was she evading his gaze while replying? It was as if she was ashamed of something. Or afraid. Maybe both. But what?

"Why is everyone so fixated with him? He was great. The greatest perhaps but surely you, Heaven itself, have seen better."

Everywhere and everyone he met, appeared afraid or respectful toward the man. Although he couldn’t deny that it filled him with pride, he also couldn’t understand why it was so.

Althea certainly seemed to know the reason behind it. She only hesitated to tell Hex about it. Perhaps he ought to pull it out of her.

"I know he has refined a Divine Will and that his innate Will is stronger than others, humans and deities."

"That...is indeed the case," Althea sighed. She finally appeared to have made up her mind. "But that is part of the reason. It would be great to have someone like him out in the world...if you wished to preserve peace."

"If ? So you don’t want to have peace?" Hex asked, noticing her intention between the pause before she revealed that last bit.

She took a deep breath. His question had hit a sore spot.

"No, I don’t wish there to be peace. Nor does anyone else wish for peace. I mean, none of the other Sages and Saints are willing to keep waiting."

"Why not?" Hex had always struggled with understanding why people and other creatures were prone to choose violence above peace.

"Because the End is near." She almost whispered it.

"The End of the Age, right? But isn’t it the End of the Age because of the war you guys started?" Hex could tell she was reluctant to give details. But he needed them.

"Not just the End of the Age. It’s the End of the Ages," she said slowly. "The world is coming to its End!"

...

Hex reached the Inn Sterling was staying in late in the night. The noise had died down at some point and very few people still wandered out and about. Hex paid them no heed.

Althea’s words still echoed in his mind. What made it worse was that she hadn’t explained herself. She had rushed away, disappearing into the night after she told him that the world was coming to its end.

’The world is coming to an end? But how will the war prevent that from happening?’

What was supposed to have been a meeting between two friends had turned out to be a source of new headache. So far, Hex had taken notice of the war but hadn’t taken it too seriously. After all, no one was actually coming after him.

He heard the talks about Divine Wills, the changes the Divine Lord wished to bring, the changes Heaven opposed, but none of these things seemed to affect him directly. The only things he cared about was keeping Grindeston safe from all of this and free the Baron.

So far, everything he had done had either served in his own interest or for the sake of freeing the baron. Him tagging along and searching for clues about Heaven and the Witch served these two points. His desire to learn more about his mother and his goal of freeing the Baron.

But now, knowing that the End was near, he felt a sense of urge and seriousness he lacked before. This war had suddenly become personal. What’s the point of becoming the baron or saving his master if they didn’t have the world to return to.

...

"That bad, huh?"

Sterling seemed concerned. And he had good reason to be. Hex had seen his face in the glass panes as he made his way to Sterling’s room the next morning. His hair was a mess, his eyes looked swollen, and he had gained dark circles around his eyes. Never had that happened before.

"It didn’t go as I planned," Hex said in the end, which was true. His purpose was to catch up with an old friend. Although that happened, it ended on an extremely serious note. "Let’s not discuss last night. Let’s discuss the competition and our competitors."

"Alright," Sterling said, nodding sympathetically. There was no doubt he believed Hex had been part of a lover spat with Althea. Hex chose not to correct him. The alternative was even worse.

Just as Sterling was about to tell him about the competition, the door opened. When Hex saw the visitors, his eyes lit up.

"Old man Perl, you woke up?" Despite himself he felt a surge of happiness at the sight of the old man entering the room. It was Sterling’s guardian. Hex had not spent a lot of time with the old man but they had fought a few battles side by side. Such things helped create a bond between two people, whether they wanted it or not.

"What happened to calling me Sir Perl, you brat," Perl grumbled. But his eyes twinkled at the sight of Hex. "You seem to have grown even stronger in the time I was knocked out. Good. Good."

He genuinely seemed to be elated. Behind him a few others entered. The twins ignored him and went to Sterling. Hex could only smile wryly at their behavior. Gronke grabbed him so tight he feared his ribs would turn into a mush. Quid smiled friendly at him.

With so many people gathering inside, the large room suddenly felt livelier and warmer. Their shouts, grumblings, and laughs helped Hex feel a little better.

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